BOCA RATON, Fla. — After two years of multiple permitting hurdles, a vacant lot is turning into a new park in Boca Raton and it’s on its way to opening. The park being is created to preserve history and the city’s natural features and beauty.
Ocean Strand Park, located between Spanish River Blvd. and Palmetto Park Rd., is intended to put Boca Raton’s natural beauty on full display.
"Ocean Strand is a property that we’ve owned for 28 years," said Erin Wright, Boca Raton Beach and Park District Chair. "We finally decided two years ago to open it up to the public and purchased it and allow them to come out here, enjoy the walking path that we are going to put in, enjoy nature, and the water."
Earlier this month, the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District completed the permitting process.
The 14 acres of land stretches from the beach to the intracoastal waterway, and will include natural walking and biking paths, benches and picnic tables, and a kayak launch.
“I think after COVID, we realized that people really need to get out and about and even though covid has kind of slowed down and we have gotten used to it, I think we have realized that walking paths are really essential to having good quality of life,” said Wright.
The park is also a finalist in a national contest by Niagara Bottling awarding $75,000 to the winner to ‘Perk your Park’.
Winning the contest will help cover almost a third of the $300,000 taxpayers will have to pay for the development of the park.
The park is scheduled to open on December 30. To vote on Ocean Strand Park in the Niagara contest, click here.